Lew Jetton & 61 South: May 2014

Had a great time at the 35th Annual Blues Awards in Memphis! Haven't been in a few years. Great to see a lot of old friends and make a few new ones..... (click on the picture for a larger view)

Several remarked to me this Blues Music Awards Week would long be remembered by them as the first one which brought together the 2 top meteorologist/blues guitarist IN THE WORLD: Myself and the great Kevin Selfe, of Delta Groove artist Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes, and The Mannish Boys. Ok....maybe not as many mentioned it...but it was true.

You know you're in Memphis, when in the hotel lobby, you see a grown man sporting an Elvis tattoo on his calf.

Carlene Roach from North Alabama. She was raised in Columbus, KY and along with her husband, Robert, were quite possibly the only people at the BMAs who knew where Fulton was! What a sweet couple!

Some Blues fans are quite particular about proper Blues dress! I noticed this was a blue plaid.

Great crowd for the reception at the Cannon Center in Memphis!

Last time I went to the BMAs, we put Bobby Rush on the phone with my wife, Bridget. She thought we were fooling and said some wild things to Bobby. It was priceless. This time, Bobby offered his condolences and prayed with me. No wonder, in addition to being one of my favorite artists, he's one of my favorite people.

Packed house at the Cannon Center for the awards show! They didn't want us to go to the stage to take pictures and requested we stay in our seats. That's why this is the only picture I took inside the hall. It was a great show though!

Scott Holt, a fellow Native Tennessean, is a hoot! I opened for him years ago at the Jenn Jam in Cairo, IL

My favorite living, left handed guitarist: Tom Holland. This guy's a MONSTER player.

Your standard, obligatory Beale Street shot.

Still. One of the coolest things we did the past year, was play one of his songs for his granddaughter.

FLASHBACK: October, 2013 with Kala Bland and her lovely mom, Melanie McDaniel

Friday, I decided to do something during the day I hadn't done and check out some of the museums I hadn't been to. I'd been to Sun Studios, Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum (all of which I recommend). This time, I went to the Rock and Soul Museum, and found this 1954 Gibson Reissue Scotty Moore model.

Also, this G&L presented to Carl Perkins by Leo Fender! I met Carl several times during my time in Jackson, TN. Such a nice man, in addition to his legend. Nice!

Back for the dedication of the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame on Main Street in Memphis.

An Elvfie!

Lunch at Blues City Cafe for "wet" ribs. I love the dry ones at Rendezvous, too. Truth is, there are dozens of places in Memphis where you can get the "best ribs in town!"

Went through the Gibson guitar factory tour. No pictures because they are afraid someone would take the pictures and began manufacturing guitars just as good as Gibson, and if there are no pictures, no one will ever know how they are made.....please. I love you Gibson. Even play a couple of yours.

This is the coolest toilet seat ever.

Friday afternoon. Went to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. This may have been be the best museum I visited this day. Great stuff!

This tape really interested me there. I remembered it from Tom Dowd's documentary "The Language of Music." If you haven't seen this documentary, YOU NEED TO! What a story, about this tape in particular.

This is the tape machine on which it was recorded.

And YES, what Tom Dowd said in the doc was true about the markings....

This is most depressing part of the tour for me. The part about how Stax Records used to use antiquated typewriters in the 70s. The I recognized it as EXACTLY the ones we used to produce newscasts at WBBJ-TV in the 80S!!!